MADRID, Sept 3, 2007 (AFP) - EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia on Monday called on EU states to respect the independence of the European Central Bank (ECB) over monetary policy and setting interest rates.

'Everyone has a right to his opinion on monetary policy and on interest rates but nobody should put pressure on the (central) bank,' Spaniard Almunia told an economic forum in Madrid.